Porterville, CA's night sky, measured from orbit

Porterville's sky measures suburban here. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 72.5% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

Note the source: a satellite reading of upward light, not a visual Bortle scale reading. The two measure related but different things.

How far Porterville is from a meaningfully darker sky

Exeter, CA, about 17 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Porterville. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Exeter, CA is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

How Porterville compares nationally

About 63,517 people live in Porterville, CA, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Porterville places 2,310 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.